There is a perception amongst pharmaceutical experts that some Indian manufacturers and/or their distributors segment the global medicine market into portions that are served by different quality medicines. This column finds that drug quality is poorer among Indian-labelled drugs purchased in African countries than among those purchased in India or middle-income countries. Substandard drugs – non-registered in Africa and containing insufficient amounts of the active ingredient – are the biggest driver of this quality difference.
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Children in India are shorter on average than children in Sub-Saharan Africa, even though Indians are richer on average. What explains this paradox? This column suggests open defecation as a possible explanation, and recommends that policymakers in India should work towards achieving widespread latrine use.
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People who work on-the-ground are essential to India’s development effort. But how to get these teachers, health workers and so on to work hard when money is tight? This column argues that there are other ways to motivate community workers that aren’t being used to their full potential – and there might be better ways to choose the best workers as well.
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